Beautiful
by Schizzar
Summary: Vanessa thinks she has sacrificed beauty for being a knight, and has sacrificed her knighthood for love. She needs someone to prove her wrong.


**Been replaying Sacred Stones. As a result I am procrastinating on my actual stories by writing disgustingly fluffy oneshots based on support conversations. Enjoy~ **

**I do not own Fire Emblem, reviews are loved, and there might be a spoiler or two in there so uh, look out for that.**

Being a female knight was difficult, but Vanessa was quickly learning that being a lady of the court was much harder. After the war against the Demon King, she had returned with Innes to the Felian court. Looking back, it was stupid to think that things would go back to normal when they returned. On the way home, Innes had informed her that she would reside with the court, instead of joining her fellow soldiers in rebuilding Frelia.

"But I'm a knight," she had said.

"And my intended bride. Unfortunately, we must deal with the court first."

Which led to where she was now. A fancy party for nobles, confined in a dress with her emerald hair piled up in a mass of curls. Struggling not to fall over, she curtsied as Innes introduced her to another noblewoman. Innes's hand was at her lower back, probably meant to steady her, but it only made her more nervous.

"Lady Nina, this is Lady Vanessa," Innes said as she straightened. "My fiancée."

The woman was stunning, her golden curls framing a delicate face, wide blue eyes accented by bright teal eye paint. Her smile was perfect, teeth straight and white. Her overwhelming beauty made Vanessa's genuine smile wither, jealousy making her stomach hot.

"Oh how cute." The woman's voice was condescending and Vanessa struggled to keep her smile plastered on her face. "Did you meet during the war? What city are you from?"

"I'm from here. I'm a knight," Vanessa said.

"Oh." The disdain was barely controlled as she drew back a step.

"Vanessa saved my life," Innes broke in. "She is quite the fighter."

"I'm sure."

Lady Nina sauntered off to mingle among the other nobles, leaving Vanessa to twist her hands together and bite her lip.

"I'm sorry, my Prince," she said after a moment.

Innes pressed his lips to her temple, brushing his knuckles along her side. "The court ladies are quite biased against independent women. Don't worry. You've done nothing wrong."

As the party continued though, the green haired knight grew progressively more uncomfortable. She already had met the King and Queen and the nobles merely looked at he with barely contained disdain. Her chance to escape was presented when the Prince's mother dragged him off to meet some man of no doubt great importance.

She slipped out of the hall door, taking as deep a breath as she could with the corset crushing her lungs. After a moment, she moved, darting down the hallway and up the winding staircases that led to the room she had been given. Once the door was shut, she let out a most unlady-like scream and ripped out the pins holding her hair back, letting it fall around her face.

The headache that had been growing immediately began to dissipate and she moved away from the door to collapse on her bed. It was much larger and more comfortable than her bed down in the barracks, but she'd rather be there then where she was now.

A soft knock on her door made her start, letting out a startled noise before clamping her hands over her mouth. The door opened and Tana slipped in, shutting the door quietly before moving across the room to open the curtains more.

"Hiding away I see. And your hair's a mess!" Tana put her hands on her hips as she turned to look at Vanessa, but her smile was warm. "I'd offer to fix it but I have a feeling you have no intention of going back down there."

Vanessa shook her head, cheeks flushing as she realized her eyes were beginning to well up with tears. "Oh Tana..."

Tana moved quickly, wrapping her arms tight around the woman's shoulders and pulling her close. "There, there, now. Don't cry."

Vanessa twisted her hands in the lacey fabric of the princess's dress as she wept, trying and failing to get herself under control. Tana just rocked her back and forth and rubbed her back, eventually easing away and holding the older's hands in her own.

"So. Why is my soon to be sister-in-law up here crying her eyes out?" Tana asked. She rubbed away a few more of Vanessa's tears and then brought their hands back together.

"I just...I'm not like all of those other ladies," Vanessa said, breaking their grip to flail her hands in the general direction of the party hall. "Now that Innes is home I don't...I don't think he'll look twice at me."

Tana rolled her eyes and put her hands on Vanessa's shoulders. "Now you listen to me. My brother thinks of those girls, the way he thinks of me. He thinks they're total scatterbrained idiots who don't know the right end of a sword, and they aren't worth his time."

"Tana! He doesn't think of you like that!" Vanessa said, shaking her head.

"Well, even if he doesn't, that's the way he thinks of those girls, okay? You have brains, and you can fight, and you...you're beautiful," Tana said.

"Not like them," Vanessa said. "My hands are rough, and there's are all pretty, with their nails and faces painted. I..."

"You don't need paint to make you beautiful. You're just like that naturally," Tana said, moving back and tugging Vanessa up with her. "Let's get you out of this dress and into something you can train in. That's what I think you need."

"I couldn't," Vanessa murmured.

"If you weren't at that stupid party, what would you have been doing?" Tana asked as her hands returned to her hips.

Vanessa gave a soft laugh. "Training."

"Exactly. Now, I have to go back to the party, but you go out to the training grounds and get some of that anger out. Alright?"

"Yes Tana," Vanessa said with an eye roll.

Tana flashed her one more smile and left the room.

-.-

Vanessa wiped the sweat off her brow and leaned on her staff. Staff work wasn't something she did often, and it was more to train her body than to use as an actual weapon. Sure, the heavy wood staff could do a lot of damage, but it was harder to use on the back of a wyvern.

After she caught her breath, she hefted it up and began to work through her exercises once more, each one more complicated then the last. Her blows rained down the padded, wooden dummy in the training yard and her muscles hummed with a dull, pleasurable ache. With a loud crack, she chipped the top of the wooden dummy off, sending it skidding off the dirt and into the boot of Innes.

"My prince! I...I didn't mean to!" she said, dropping her staff.

Innes picked the piece of wood up and examined it thoroughly as he approached her, boots scuffing on the dirt. She took a step back when Innes finally stopped, barely a foot away. He grabbed her elbow and pulled her forward, causing her to stumble over her staff, fingers clenching at the material of his shirt to keep herself standing.

He smiled down at her, throwing the hunk of wood away and slipping a hand under her chin. "Someone told me I'd find you out here."

She tried to pull away only to realize he had his arm wrapped tight around her waist. A nervous laugh escaped past her lips as she looked up into his blue eyes. His stare was intense.

"I...I'm sorry. I just couldn't stand being there any longer." She jerked her head away and looked down. "I know my behavior isn't quite lady-like but I..."

Innes sighed and cupped her face once more, leaning down to place a soft kiss to her lips. Her eyes widened as he deepened the kiss, and with a sigh she began to relax, letting her arms twine around his neck. When he pulled back, her flush was deep and she looked off to the side.

"I don't want an airhead for a wife. I want you. I want the gorgeous lady knight who can protect me even as I protect her," he said, moving so they were looking at one another again. "I love you Vanessa."

"I love you too," she said, eyes watering a little at his words.

"So no more crying?" he asked, hands moving to her waist.

"How...how did you hear about that?" Vanessa asked, horrified.

"You should know better then to think Tana knows how to keep her mouth shut," he said, laughing.

The deep laugh rumbled in his chest, and was so rare that Vanessa paused a moment to enjoy it. The prince was usually uptight, but sometimes he could let his guard down, and when he laughed, her whole world lit up.

"You're my chosen Queen, Vanessa. I know it's difficult to deal with all these frivolous parties, but soon, once we are married, I have already chosen an area for you to go, under Syrene's command," he said.

"Really?" The excitement in her voice was apparent and he gave another chuckle. "Thank you, Innes."

He tilted his head to the side, a curious look on his face. "You know, that's one of the first times you've actually called me by my name. I...I like the sound of it."

"I guess I need to learn to relax around you," Vanessa admitted.

Innes didn't give her a verbal answer, instead kissing her until she was breathless. "I think I'd like that very much."

"Okay...Innes."

**A/N: Yes, wyvern, not pegasus. That's cuz Vanessa is always a wyvern knight or w/e they're called on my files. Cuz...that's how I roll. :D**


End file.
